Correlation of in Vitro and in Vivo Somatotropic Adenoma Responsiveness to Somatostatin Analogs and Dopamine Agonists with Immunohistochemical Evaluation of Somatostatin and Dopamine Receptors and Electron Microscopy

Objective and Patients: Twenty-four pituitary adenomas from acromegalic patients (13 females, 11 males; age range 19–65 yr) were characterized for somatostatin receptor subtype 2A (sst2A), dopamine D2 receptor (D2R), GH, and prolactin (PRL) expression by immunohistochemistry, and results correlated with the in vitro and in vivo hormone responses to octreotide and quinagolide. In nine cases, GH and PRL content was further studied by immunoelectron microscopy. Results: Immunoreactivity was semiquantitatively scored as 2 (>50% stained cells), 1 (10–50% stained cells), and 0 (